All posts tagged Peg Streep

In an ideal world, we’d move from one stepping-stone to the next, on the road to happiness, knowing exactly what we want and don’t want. But in real life, most of us will find ourselves having to quit something that isn’t working. Sometimes, we’ll leave under our own steam, and sometimes not.

The problem is that humans aren’t very good at leaving behind things that have mattered, whether it’s a relationship, a job, a dream or a goal. Really quitting — letting go — is hard because evolution has wired us to keep trying. Humans are a conservative lot, sensitive not just to the pain of lost dreams but to the time and energy already invested. Much of the time — whether we’ve been shown the door or done the walking — we end up carrying emotional and cognitive baggage. It’s easy to become the person at the bar who can’t stop talking about that failed relationship, or the opportunity lost, or the boss from hell. It’s failed quitting that’s responsible for that middle-of-the night replay of what we might have done differently or how it could, somehow, have worked out.

But with effort, quitting can bemastered. There are four basics you’re going to have to pay attention to first. Read More »

Two weeks ago, actress and singer Patti LuPone grabbed a cell phone out of the hand of an audience member who was texting during a performance of her current play, "Shows for Days." The bold move led to an outpouring of support from fans fed up with glowing screens. Ms. LuPone gives us her five rules of theater etiquette.